“Hey, I could drink this all day!”

so says Marshall Moneybags as he discovers rose recently.

That’s exactly why there is a #roserevolution going on: dry rose really is a wine that works from brunch on.

You really can drink rose all day.

And what better day than today –National Rose Day?

Rose is a very good daytime wine. It goes well with picnic food, or what you want to eat at a concert at the bowl: it’s like a symphony wine. The colors are varied but always so beautiful and inviting. And best? Dry rose wines pair so well with food from humous to ham, from salami to sausage.

And that’s why I had Marshall cook us up a ham to pair with our rose because, like rose, ham is a meat that you can eat all day –from breakfast steaks and scrambles to brunch to lunch and dinner grilled cheese, ham sandwiches, and more.

Many years ago, I had a sample rose from Planet Bordeaux and as we had prepared a ham, I gave it a try. The ham was cooked on the grill, smoked with special wood, and covered in cloves as well as other flavors in the rich glaze. It was a match made in heaven and now whenever we have ham, my go to wine is dry rose.

Rose also pairs well with a number of sides making it a versatile choice for holiday meals.

Because we had a number of different rose wines from around the world to sample, and it was a #winestudio Tuesday focused on rose, and #WinePW or Wine Pairing Weekend coming up with a focus on Rose, and we had a friend from far away visiting on her birthday

AND the second Saturday of June, IS NATIONAL ROSE DAY

so we thought it would be fun to do something special so we opened up 5 and did a blind tasting to see if we could guess what country and what grape the rose was made from, and to compare notes. We loved the difference in colors,. That was the first playfully fun thing that we noticed when looking at the glasses as you can see below.

So what is ROSE?

Unlike other wines which are made from specific grapes, like Cabernet Sauvignon, or a blend of grapes like  Bordeaux that often has in it Cabernet Sauvignon, rose can be made from just about any wine grape.

While rose is usually made from red grapes that have very little contact with the dark skins which provide the color, it can be made other ways as well.

In fact, I bet you’ve made rose a time or two by inadvertently pouring some white wine into a glass that had red wine in it making it pink or vice versa. And you’ve probably drank a syrah that was co-fermented with a white wine, a viognier, to add more aromatics.

Dry rose is not made by accident — it’s made intentionally with grapes that are picked to the right level of ripeness to make a dry rose, and then processed in one of three ways.

• By controlling the brief skin contact of the red grapes
• By blending red and white wines. While blending red and white wine for rose is not allowed in many places including France, it is allowed to make Rose Champagne, although the preferred method is saignee.
• By saignee, which is French for bleeding. In this third method, rose wine is made when a winemaker desires more color and tannins in a red wine, and allows some of the pink juice to run off and be fermented separately.

Our blind tasting system was quite simple: Holly the birthday girl was charged with bagging the bottles, and we numbered the bags 1-5 in pink letters, and she opened the bottles which was easy because half had stelvin closures.. She totally lost track of what was in what. We had five sheets of paper where people could record their guesses and their notes, and then Sue recorded these comments and others into a draft blog post which I revised into this! We loved seeing the difference in colors,. That was the first playfully fun thing that we noticed when looking at the glasses.

MENU:

Cheeses including a smoked one which was so good I sliced a smoked gouda to find that rose loves smoky creamy cheeses. In fact, I’d venture to say that smoke is rose’s best friend!

Garlic and plain humous doused with extra olive oil

Crackers and breads

Ham dotted with cloves, slathered in local honey, slow cooked on the grill on low for three house, and periodically inoculated with more glaze as well as inundated with a can of crushed pineapple (no recipe–just followed his experience)

Strawberry and blueberry salad of field greens with gorgonzola and toasted pecans with a champagne citrus vinaigrette (no recipe– just went by color and taste)

Homemade organic potato salad (no recipe–Sue just did it by taste)

Mashed potatoes with a Spanish blue cheese

All of these wines were EXCELLENT with ham as well as the sides!

WINES

 

#1 – Gioia – 2015 – Castello di Amorosa – California Rosato Di Sangiovese Rose Wine – 14.2% alc SRP $26
Sample provided for my review consideration.

This wine has a really nice body to it. It can stand up to big meals. You could even pare this one with a roast beef sandwich. It could go with almost any picnic meal. We kissed this wine goodbye knowing we would be saddened by its departure.

On the nose – Such a lovely nose on this wine – fresh melon (maybe even on the side of watermelon), candied almost, Maybe a watermelon jolly rancher candy. Spicy, fruit, rose petal, earthy

On the palette – melon, watermelon, bright crisp, strawberry, lively fruit with floral,

Scale of 1 to 10 – I gave this wine a 10, Gwen gave it a 9+. We really loved this wine and was sorry when it was gone. To replace it, we’ll have to either go to the winery or order online as they do not sell in retail stores.

#2 – The Seeker – Rose 2015 – Côtes de Provence, France 2015 – 13% alc. SRP $13.99
Sample provided for my review consideration.

Several people commented that the rose gold or cooked salmon color was classic or what they expected for a dry Rose: very light and elegant. The nose reminded us of the light, brightness of a Sauvignon Blanc  with scents of apricots,  strawberry, and the skins of grapefruit. On the palette, smooth grapefruit, bright and lively, with other fruits, but not sweet. Very clean and fresh. This blend of 50% Grenache and 50% Cinsault grew on granite-schist soils, and that minerality shows.

This easy going and mild wine went really well with the blue cheese mashed potatoes; it needed this dish to wake it up. On the subsequent night, I found it paired well with fish tacos with fruit. Screw top closure makes it easy for picnics!

I have sampled a number of The Seeker wines over the years and can safely say, if you are seeking adventure with an easy open and close stelvin closure, this is a consistent brand with a great product at this price point. They have a fun steampunk website– you should check it out!

Scale of 1 – 10: Sue gave it a 5 and I gave it an 8-.

#3 – Alta Vista Rose – Malbec – 2015 – 12.5% alcohol SRP $12.99
Sample provided for my review consideration.

Color is a very pretty pink; not a very predominate nose, faintly cherry with some vague floral notes. Palette is citrus, very dry, not that fruity, minerality, a bit harsh on the finish.

Most of us found this wine to be flat, bland, and the most nondescript of all we tasted. Smokey cheese helps this wine. It brings out a fruity zing to an otherwise kind of blasé wine. It gives it a lift. Might do well with a grilled smoked gouda sandwich. It goes well with green salads with berries.

That night, on a scale of 1 – 10, Sue thought it to be a 6 and I rated it a 7.  Surprisingly, this is a wine that has improved over the past few days so perhaps there was some bottle shock. I would give this wine another try if I found it on sale for $10 or less.

#4 – Elipsis – Rose of Pinot Meunier – Sonoma – 2015 – 14.1% alcohol SRP $25
Sample provided for my review consideration.

Unctuous! This wine has umami, like a sea urchin! It fills your mouth with a richness or a volume that is more than what is expected from looking at the glass or the nose.

In color, a rosie coral. The nose is lightly floral with fruit, inviting, and with a racy acidity. On the palette, the wine has a long finish, lingering. A very nice wine.

Blue cheese mashed potatoes really brings out the sweetness of the wine.

We are opening another bottle of this wine on Tuesday June 14 at 6pm PST for #WineStudio. Join the conversation on twitter! We plan on doing a more in depth follow up blog post with more details about this very small production winery.

Scale of 1 – 10 Both Sue and I rated this a 9+. We really enjoyed this wine.

#5 – Masi Rosa dei Masi – Rosato Delle Venezie – 2015  100% Refosco– 12.5% alcohol $14.99
Sample provided for my review consideration.

This wine came in a really nice bottle with a fun label. there is a sweetness to this wine without being sweet. Theres’s a refreshing tea like quality.

In color, a light pink salmon. On the nose, very nice with rose petals, and the nose is possibly the standout and best charastistic of this wine. There is so much going on in the nose on this wine! Lots of raspberries! On the palette, it’s dry, bright, crisp, with fruit of watermelon and red Macintosh apple, especially the skin of the apple.

The 2015 Masi Agricola: Rosa dei Masi from the Veneto region of Italy uses Masi’s specialty Appassimento technique where they dry the grapes on bamboo racks over the winter before making them into wine. This keeps it a fresh and fruity rosé wine, complex and elegant. The 100% Refosco offers intense aromas ripe berry fruit. Lively and refreshing. Very flexible with food.

Scale of 1 – 10 Sue gave this a 9 and I gave it an 8+. Great wine for the price. I will look for it!

For the evening, because at first a few people were skeptical of rose wine, we also opened:

ALSO: Castello di Amorosa – Sangiovese 2012 – 14.8% alcohol $30
Sample provided for my review consideration.

After the lovely Rose, it was nice that this wine was equally as pleasant as the last. We enjoyed both wines from this winery. Both Sangiovese done in different styles were wonderful expressions of what this wine can bring. Whatever the wine maker is doing, he is doing it right.

This has a very nice spicy nose with earth and truffle, woodsy notes, smoke. On the palette – cherry and spice and everything nice. It is not a wonder that this wine is so nice, the Rose that we drank was so wonderful as well. Thank you, Castello di Amorosa, for sharing this beautiful wine with us! And there’s another wine in store!

Note: The only way to buy this wine is to visit the castle in Napa or order it online.

And then for dessert with a fresh peach and blueberry galette, we enjoyed:

AND: Lilly Pilly  – Noble Blend – 2006 – 11.0% alcohol $14

We made a fruit galette for this course with fresh apricot, nectarine, and peaches ginger and cardamom spice. This wine was so perfect with this desert. This was the perfect paring of the evening. This Australian desert wine like eating a liquid galette fruity, tart, not too sweet, raw. It went so lovely with our desert tonight. The Rose might have worked with our dessert tonight, however the Lilly Pilly was  a killer pairing, and once we had that, there was no going back! (This wine came from my cellar).

Read the results from the other participants here:

Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla pairs Rose Petal-Strawberry Granita with Luc Belaire Rare Rosé

Cindy from Grape Experiences will share Wine and Dine: Galil Mountain Rose and Mixed Olive Tapenade

Jill from L’occasion is contemplating Provençal Rosé and a Summer Supper

Martin from Enofylz Wine Blog pairs Chicken and Sausage Paella Paired with a Unicorn Rosé

Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm prepares a Seafood Boil featuring Domaine Houchart Cotes de Provence Rose 2015 #WinePW

Jade from Tasting Pour shares Labneh (Kefir) Cheescake with Strawberries & Del Rio Rose Jolee

Michelle from Rockin Red Blog will be Kicking Off Summer with National Rosé Day

David from Cooking Chat pairs Grilled Arctic Char with Pineapple Salsa

Lori from Dracaena Wines discusses Are You Impatient? You Could Have Created Rosé

Lauren from The Swirling Dervish considers Where Sicily and Mendoza Meet: Stuffed Roasted Calamari and 2015 Perlita Rosado. June’s #winePW Adventure

Meaghan from Un Assaggio shares Cheeky Pairings: Cod Burger + Rosé #WinePW

Gwendolyn from Wine Predator travels Around the World With Rose

Host Nancy from Pull That Cork will pair A Corsican Rosé and Summer Veggie Pizza for #winePW

Upcoming Wine Pairing Weekend Themes:

“Pairings with Sherry”, 7/9/2016, hosted by Jeff at food wine click (#winePW 26)

“South African Wine Pairings”, 8/13/16, hosted by Sarah at Curious Cuisiniere (#winePW 27)

“Grüner Veltliner Pairings”, 9/10/16, hosted by Martin at ENOFYLZ Wine Blog (#winePW 28)

And join us on Tuesdays in June at 6pm for #WineStudio when featuring rose from Sonoma!

Week 2: 14 June – @ellipsiswines Devika Maskey Ellipsis Wine Company
2015 Rosé of Pinot Meunier Sonoma County

Week 3: 21 June – @Pedroncelli Julie Pedroncelli Pedroncelli Winery
2015 Dry Rosé of Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley

Week 4: 28 June – @aandcwines Daniel Hill Angels & Cowboys
2015 Rosé Sonoma County (Grenache Rouge, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Grenache Blanc)